By Brianna Adkins
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Working on a big-budget film with a cast filled with industry legends would be a dream for any actor trying to make a living. For Wesley Wong, a Chinese actor who landed the role as Cadet Jinhai in Pacific Rim Uprising, it was an earning long overdue.
Wong—who was promoting the home entertainment release of Pacific Rim Uprising—has mainly worked on productions in Asia, so landing a coveted role in a Hollywood film meant everything. He spoke to us about how incredible it was to work on the set of a movie where “everything was so well planned and thought out.”
“Having worked in both American and Asian productions has helped me learn how things work around the world, which I’m sure will help prepare myself to the different situations that I may come across in future productions,” Wong explained.
Wong was grateful to work alongside such a diverse and talented cast that included Pacific Rim powerhouse, Rinko Kikuchi, and Star Wars alum, John Boyega. He learned the most from Boyega—as he didn’t have any scenes with Kikuchi—and emphasized that it was “something that [he] still remembers to this day.”
“Since [Boyega] was also a producer for the film, he told us that if we needed anything throughout the shoot that we could always go up and speak to him directly, because he would understand us more being an actor himself as well,” stated Wong.
Having the opportunity to shoot a Hollywood film in China also came with other perks for the actor. Since many did not speak Mandarin, he had the opportunity to become the “tour guide” for the cast members, taking them to The Great Wall and numerous other local spots.
“In real life while we were shooting in Qingdao, China, we had about a week or so of down time, and a few of the cadets wanted to check out Beijing and Shanghai as it was their first time in China,” Wong explained. “I went along with them as a tour guide and we visited The Great Wall in Beijing, and other local spots.”
As an Asian actor he’s representing his Chinese culture with pride, and he hopes to do more of that in the future when he is casted in other Hollywood blockbusters. Wesley Wong is an actor to watch, so you better grab a tub of popcorn, kick back on the couch, and watch your copy of Pacific Rim Uprising stat.
You can now purchase Pacific Rim Uprising on Blu-ray and DVD in stores.
Check out the full interview with Wesley Wong below:
Brianna Adkins: First off, congratulations on being apart of such an incredible major motion picture. You’ve been acting for a couple of years now, after completing your masters degree program in Acting at Beijing Film Academy. What has been the major difference between acting in films from China versus the US based on your experience?
Wesley Wong: Pacific Rim Uprising was definitely the largest budget film production that I’ve been in, and it was my first ever sci-fi film, so a lot of things were very new to me. Everything was so well planned and thought out, that it just made acting so much easier for me. Costume, props, the actual sets, just everything was magnificent and so real, that it was like living in a dream every time I step foot on set. But I think the main reason why everything was so perfect was because we had an awesome director who had great support from the studio. Steven S. DeKnight has just been a joy to work with, and I can’t be more thankful to have had worked with such an amazing director.
In Asia, we often don’t have the luxury to spend so much time and resources on a project. Things turn around much quicker, and in some sense, people are much more efficient and adaptable to last minute changes.
Having worked in both American and Asian productions has helped me learn how things work around the world, which I’m sure will help prepare myself to the different situations that I may come across in future productions.
Adkins: You had the opportunity to become Cadet Jinhai in this film, joining a mass of diverse actors and actresses. What was it like to represent your culture in this film?
Wong: I was a huge fan of the first Pacific Rim movie, it was so visually stunning and enjoyable to watch. So when I learned that Hollywood was going to make Pacific Rim: Uprising, I was extremely excited and hyped up about it. Then finally getting the role of Cadet Jinhai was just a dream come true to me. I felt extremely excited and honoured to play a Chinese Cadet. There was so much from the Chinese culture and history, that I wish I had the opportunity to portray to the audience. In real life while we were shooting in Qingdao, China, we had about a week or so of down time, and a few of the cadets wanted to check out Beijing and Shanghai as it was their first time in China. The only thing was they didn’t speak Mandarin, so I went along with them as a tour guide and we visited The Great Wall in Beijing, and other local spots.
Adkins: What was the process of creating your character for the film like?
Wong: I’m sort of in between the type where they prepare a whole load and do a ton of background research for the character and scenes, and the type where they like to keep things real and improvise on the spot. So I did a lot of research to understand my character, and created links and connections between myself and my character. Initially, Cadet Jinhai’s parents were also decorated Jaeger pilots. But in real life, we don’t have Jaegers (or at least not that we know of), so the nearest thing I could think of were jet fighter pilots – they both pilot high-tech machinery, and are the best-of-the-best. So once I found out that I landed the role for Cadet Jinhai, I made some calls to see if I could interview one of China’s jet fighter pilot. Fortunately enough, I was able to arrange to have lunch with one of China’s well-known pilot. He taught me a lot about the mentality and physical attributes that are required to be a jet fighter pilot. Most importantly, he gave me a lot of insight to being a second generation jet fighter pilot. For example, it has probably been Jinhai’s dream to become a Jaeger pilot just like his parents, which explains why Jinhai is always pushing himself to his limits, physically and mentally, as seen in the film when the audience is first introduced to the cadets at the cadet barracks, where he is doing inverted ab crunches on his bunk bed.
The above mentioned was most of the mental preparation for my character. For the physical part, I had to bulk up to look physically like a Jaeger pilot, especially since the inverted ab crunch scene was potentially a shirtless scene for me. So since day one, I worked closely with our personal trainer and nutritionist, because I wanted to be physically ready and able to deliver if our director, Steven, needed me to. As we were getting closer to the day of shoot, I was in the best shape I had ever been in my life, weighing a record high. But to achieve the best results, I asked my trainer how I could look even better, and she taught me a method of flushing out the fluid in the body, so that the skin would get sucked to the muscles giving it a better tone. Under our skin, other than body fat, it is mostly water that is in between the muscles. The method started a week before shoot, and it was to basically begin by loading my body up with water so it was used to it. So I drank 6 litres of water everyday for the first 4 days, then cut if by half everyday after, and not drink any liquid at all the day before the shoot. I was weighing myself everyday, and I dropped 5kg on the day of shoot, but the trainer said it was just water weight.
In the end, Steven did tell me to take my shirt off for the scene, and we were all pleased with the results. But I must have done over 100 inverted ab crunches that day, because of the various different takes and angles we had to do.
That was definitely an experience that I would remember for life.
Adkins: I have a quick fun question for you. If you could build a jaeger, what would be its strengths?
Wong: Interesting question, as I’ve never thought about this. I guess, it would be a combination of Gypsy Avenger and Saber Athena – having all the high-tech weapons of Gypsy, while still maintaining the speed and agility of Saber.
Adkins: You had the opportunity to learn from powerhouse actors in the film industry. John Boyega, Rinko Kikuchi, and Charlie Day. What was it like to work along side these industry titans and what did you learn from them?
Wong: I have a lot of respect for actors like John, Rinko, and Charlie. Most obviously because I’ve seen a lot of their previous work, and am a big fan myself. So before we began filming, I actually didn’t know what to expect of them when we would actually meet. Surprisingly, the first day I met John, he was actually extremely friendly and caring. He actually came up to meet and greet every single of the cadets. Since he was also a producer for the film, he told us that if we needed anything throughout the shoot that we could always go up and speak to him directly, because he would understand us more being an actor himself as well. That was something that I still remember to this day.
Unfortunately, I didn’t have any scenes with Rinko and Charlie, but they were both very nice a friendly when we met on set.
Adkins: What can we expect from you in the future?
Wong: I am currently working on 3 TV dramas in China (so I am actually typing this after I’ve wrapped filming for the day, and it is 3am). The projects are expected to be broadcasted at various times in 2019. I will also be filming a Chinese-US coproduction sci-fi movie at the end of this year. So stay tuned, and I will keep everyone posted!
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